Admiralty Islands, islands in Papua New Guinea, southwestern Pacific Ocean, an extension of the Bismarck Archipelago comprising about 40 islands. The group lies about 190 miles (300 km) off the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The volcanic Manus Island constitutes the majority of its land area and is the site of Lorengau, the islands’ principal settlement.

Possibly explored by the Spaniard Álvaro Saavedra in 1528, the group was sighted by the Dutch navigator Willem Schouten in 1616 and named by the British captain Philip Carteret in 1767. Constituted part of a German protectorate in 1884, the islands were captured by Australia in 1914 and were included in the territory mandated to that nation in 1921. They were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1944 and made part of the UN Trust Territory of New Guinea in 1946. When Papua New Guinea attained its independence in 1975, the islands became part of that country.

The economy of the Admiralty Islands is primarily agricultural, consisting of copra production and some coffee growing. Copper deposits have been located on Manus Island. Manus is heavily forested, and logging is another important industry on the island. The indigenous population, which is primarily Melanesian, engages in fishing and local trading. Many are adherents of the Paliau movement, an indigenous social and religious movement founded by Paliau Maloat after World War II.

Island, New Caledonia.
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This article was most recently revised and updated by Lorraine Murray.
Also called:
Great Admiralty Island

Manus Island, largest of the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It lies about 200 miles (320 km) north of the island of New Guinea. The volcanic island has an area of 633 square miles (1,639 square km) and is an extension of the Bismarck Archipelago. From a coast that alternates between steep slopes and bays that are fringed with mangrove swamp, it rises to a ridged and hilly interior reaching 2,356 feet (718 metres) at Mount Dremsel. Heavily forested and well watered, Manus is drained by numerous short, swift streams, whose valleys provide the only lowlands besides a narrow, densely populated east-coast plain. Lorengau is the principal settlement.

Manus, perhaps visited by the Spanish explorer Álvaro Saavedra in 1528, was sighted by the Dutch navigator Willem Schouten in 1616. Navigational studies of the island were not made until 1875. The Germans established a post in 1912 at Lorengau, which came under Australian administration in 1914. Manus was the site of a large World War II U.S. naval base built in 1944 on the northeast coast at Seeadler Harbour.

Copra, cocoa, coffee, and other products are now exported from Seeadler Harbour. The island is served by regular domestic air service. Tourist activities include scuba diving, snorkeling, and attending traditional dance performances; there are also World War II relics on the island as well as shipwrecks in the surrounding waters. In the early 21st century Manus was the site of one of Australia’s controversial Pacific Island detention centres for the offshore processing of Australia-bound asylum seekers.

Island, New Caledonia.
Britannica Quiz
Islands and Archipelagos
This article was most recently revised and updated by Lorraine Murray.